I’m beyond delighted to have been elected to Aosdána, the affiliation of creative artists in Ireland. Founded in 1981, Aosdána ‘honours artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland, and assists members in devoting their energies fully to their art practice.’ This is naturally, a dream come true, and will be life-changing for me.
I’m very grateful to Mia Gallagher and Eilís Ní Dhuibhne who spoke for me at the Assembly, and to all my champions, current and prior, including my agent Gráinne Fox; the entire team at my publisher, New Island Books; Alan Hayes and Arlen House, my first and continuing publisher; Declan Meade at the Stinging Fly and Patrick Cotter at Munster Literature Centre, who gave me crucial early supports, encouragement, and opportunities. As did all the good souls at the Irish Writers Centre, especially Valerie Bistany and, nowadays, Mags McLoughlin. No writing journey happens alone, it can’t, and my esteem is high for those who were kind to me along the way and who gave me gorgeous opportunities in the wider books industry – I can’t name everyone, but I know the help I got, and the people I got it from, and I’m thankful to you all.
My fellow newly elected members are:
- Paul Brady
- Alan Gilsenan
- Shih-Fu Peng
- Paul Mercier
- Orla Barry
- Áine Ní Ghlinn
- Locky Morris
- Mufutau Yusuf
There’s more about the election and assembly here.